thewildrabbit

Man 0 Man, I'm sick up and fed of hearing about all the partying before the SB's, the Raiders partied all night and still won theirs. My take is Marv levy is a great man, and was a great HC and a supreme motivator! I'm happy the Bills went to 4 SB's. They should have won that first SB, curse Bill Parcells and his genius DC Bill Belichick That bastage BB is still haunting us Bills fans. Detroit, Cleveland, Jacksonville, and Houston still haven't gone to a SB! Only 18 teams have actually won a SB, out of 32. Losers, Chargers 1-Titans 1-Seahawks 1-Falcons 1- Panthers1- Cardinals 1- Bengals 2 - Eagles 2- Vikings 4- Bills 4

Hopefully the defense is much improved...

Eagles picked up Joique Bell last year. He is with the lions now, 5th stringer

Most fans have convinced themselves that just about anybody could have done better then Modrak and Jauron. Yet these past two years saw 4-10 / 6-10 teams that this regime couldn't even find decent back ups at some positions. That 2010 draft is basically a wash considering how many positions were in need of quality players and yet no starters from that draft. In 3 years Nix has found better players off the waiver wire then he has found in the draft past round 3. If the problem wasn't entirely Modrak, it makes me wonder if the scouts the bills employ are worth a damn. Teams like Green Bay find so many good players in the later rounds, what are the bills doing wrong?

Kafka has no arm, and the world saw it last year. Its why the Eagles got no takers for a trade and they just released him. Edwards got picked up by almost the perfect team to help resurrect his career in the NFL. Andy Reid is a disciple of Bill Walsh and runs a form of the WCO, and unlike Jauron and his band of clowns, Reid knows what he is doing. In case you had forgotten Edwards played his college ball at Stanford where he learned the WCO. Edwards saw a lot of play time in pre season and did pretty well considering.

Yep, this might be opening the door for plax or a waiver wire pickup Both Fitz and SJ toughed it out the latter part of last season with injuries. Bills would be in deep trouble if anything happens to SJ.

I agree to a point, although Chandler is just a bit above average and, FJ is right behind Chandler. So the team is not entirely devoid of good hands IMO.

More torture... Considering how few reps the backups get, Thigpen clearly needs more time to see if he can improve as the game goes on. If he doesn't improve....

Get well soon Mr Wilson

I no longer have that game TiVoed so i can't comment on whether the Giants pass rush caused Fitz to hurry those throws, but I suspect that was the reason. But then again, look at the game Tom Brady had against the Bills in Buffalo that year. Even the great QB's have bad games and make mistakes, its all part of throwing the ball up in the air. Words from Fitz on that game. "This is one of the hardest parts of playing quarterback, when you don't get the job done," Fitzpatrick said. "The two interceptions I threw, you couldn't ask for better coverage, you couldn't ask for a better play, couldn't ask for a better route. They were both basically the same thing, Stevie on a go route. I'd like to give credit to Corey Webster, he made plays on both of them. That said, I feel like Stevie beat him and I underthrew both of them." Fitz was 21 / 30 for 244 yards, 8.1 avg, 2 TD's, 2 INT's, 3 sacks -25 http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=311016019 The defense, http://espn.go.com/blog/afceast/post/_/id/32748/bills-defense-not-holding-up-its-end

All those teams were in the playoffs and 2 were in the super bowl. Kinda helps make my point about needing at least 2 top receivers. The Patriots had one of the worst defense's but their offense was so potent it didn't matter up until the very last game. The thing about Aaron Rodgers is he has so many good receivers and spreads the ball around so much that they almost never have one guy in the top 10. Jordy Nelson was #9 in yards and Jennings was #26 Yea, Stafford is that good, and he has Megatron! Phillip Rivers was in almost the same boat as Fitz last year, with Vincent Jackson ranked #16 in yards and Malcom Floyd at #37, Gates at # 45. Both Gates and Floyd injured and missed games last season. Jackson held out and came in late If I'm not mistaken. Plus they had O line and RB problems, hence the Chargers 8-8 season Atlanta had Roddy White #8 in yards, Julio Jones #26 in yards (hamstring problems most of last season), Tony Gonzalaz #33 in yards. I'm not saying Fitz will magically transform into Tom Brady or Drew Brees if his receiver corps and O line was better, but it certinly would help give the Bills offense a better oppertunity to open up the playbook for the mid to deep passing plays instead of just the short / quick passes. Plus, with a better line QB's like Thigpen might stand a chance to make a throw.

What you don't get, and probably never will considering your above argument. Chan Gailey didn't design anything, he was just darn lucky that Fitz was there after he dumped Edwards. If not for Fitz the Bills probably don't win a game in 2010,and perhaps only win one or two in 2011. You clearly don't get that no other QB has been able to do what Fitz can do, Gailey is 1 for 7 in QB's because, ITS ALL FITZ!!! You still haven't explained why Tyler Thigpen has looked so horrible running Chan Gailey's offense when he had almost a full season under Gailey in 08 to learn it. PS. Who really shivs a git that the QB can light it up in a losing effort, the only numbers that count are the ones in the win loss column, its all about wins! 10-22 stinks!

Rex Ryan made a statement a few weeks ago that his defense will be working against 4-5 WR one back spread sets in preparation for that first home game.Plus, we really haven't see anything of the Tebow / wildcat so far in the pre-season. The Jets players don't sound particularly concerned about their lack of offense so far this pre-season. The Jets are supposedly going to be a ground and pound offense this year like they were 2 years ago. From the way Stevie Johnson played in last weeks Steelers game it looked like this year was strike shortened off season with all the miscues, 9 targets, 3 catches. So are both teams so busy disguising what they will do opening game so nobody knows what to expect? I can only hope the Bills are ready to play, and play well enough to win.

Cut the drama, I posted in this thread that I knew Tyler Thigpen was the QB that year. I've been saying he played most of a season under Gailey and yet he still sucks running the current Bills offense, why is that? Thigpen put up some good garbage numbers in KC because he was always playing from behind in the score, always throwing trying to play catch up, sound familiar? In case you have forgotten Chan Gailey picked Trent Edwards over Fitz to start that 2010 season, even tho Perry Fewell had Benched Edwards and started Fitz the previous year. A throughly boneheaded move wasting an entire training camp and 4 pre-season games on Edwards only to cut him after 2 games All those snaps the starter gets vs the limited snaps the back up gets is a big reason for the 2010, 0-8 start. Fitz was no where near ready to start that year. In case you missed it I've been stating that Gailey is the problem and not the QB. The Bills need better receivers and better linemen. Plus, Gailey needs to stop hanging Fitz out to dry by constantly forcing him to throw when the team gets behind in the score like he did the 2nd half of last year. Gailey would often stop running the ball and go into a constant passing mode, even tho the running game was working well. This had the QB throwing into the teeth of the defense, not a good idea with only one decent WR and a banged up O line. Why on earth would I kiss the ground Gailey walks on? So,we all know Gailey can get a QB to light it up, that doesn't always equate to wins. In fact all it equates to in Buffalo so far in a 10-22 record. Thank you! Finally, someone else who understands what happened last year. How so?

I think most fans just don't really grasp the difference between having only one good receiver in the top 20, and 2 or 3 in the top 30. The Patriots (ranked #2), WR Wes Welker 122 rec, 1569 yards- (Ranked #6) TE Rob Gronkowski 90 rec, 1327 yards (Ranked #31) TE Aaron Hernandez 79 rec, 910 yards- (Ranked # 51) Dion Branch 57 rec 702 yards. The Patriots 3rd best receiver had more receptions then (ranked at #19) Stevie Johnson , 76 rec, 1004 yards If Fitz had a better supporting cast around him, line, and receivers, then I wouldn't have an argument.The fact that Gailey has tried 6 other QB's in his scheme and they all fell on their face so badly its not even close. This tells me its all Fitz, and not the system. Fitz is a gunslinger, he is going to make some errant throws and try and force the ball sometimes. I've seen the alternative to taking risks in Trent Edwards... I'll take the gunslinger!

Sure, you can delude yourself into anything you want. The bottom line for playing pro football is wins, not stats. Like the 22 sacks for the Bills O line is the result of Fitz and his ability to get the ball out rather then the all pro players on that line the Bills have. Chan Gailey is 10-22 as the Bills HC, and he was fired from his previous job as OC of the Chiefs in 08 where his team went 2-14.(26 in pts, 24 in yards) Until he wins 2x super bowls, I'd say he is inferior to Kevin Gilbride! Yea okie,my bad, wrong use of stats. I meant SJ was targeted 135 times and caught 76 passes. SJ does drop his share of balls tho, and at the most inopportune times. The point was he is the best WR on the team and nobody is really close to him, and the 3rd, 4th, 5th WR's on the team stink. what does it tell you when the backup QB is the 4th best WR.

I don't believe Fitz's accuracy is as bad as most fans make it out to be. One reason is, if it were that bad he wouldn't be an NFL starter! Plus, the Bills wouldn't have paid him what they paid him last year, so the FO thinks differently. Watching the games Fitz doesn't take very many sacks because the ball is out in under 3 seconds, but he still gets hit almost every passing play. Most of the issues I see with Fitz has have to do with that O line barely giving him the time to get the ball out, and many times he is not in the proper position when he releases because of the rush causing him to hurry throws. Most fans don't believe me when I say that O line is still very questionable on the right side because the line only gave up 22 sacks last year, but it is. Now the Bills have a rookie at LT, players returning from injuries at center and RT. When you have a core of inferior WR's you are burdened with hoping that they run the correct route, can get uncovered, can find the holes in the defensive scheme, can be in the proper position to catch the ball, and can actually catch the ball if its thrown to them. Those 170+ ranked WR's don't instill much confidence in the QB throwing to them. Its a crap shoot at best. OTOH, Stevie Johnson is where he is supposed to be when the call comes out, he finds the holes in the defense and makes the catch most of the time. Last season 76 catches vs 135 targets, thats 59 drops, and he is the best WR on the team! Have you watched Tom Brady this pre season at all? Even with the plethora of excellent WRers and TE's Brady hasn't had his usual 5-7 seconds time in the pocket and he has only 1 TD, 1 INT, given up 3 sacks, and has a QB rating of 80.6.and he is ranked around 60th in yards. Ryan Fitzpatrick says, welcome to my world Tom. I don't buy for a second that Tom Brady or Drew Brees could make this corps of WR's better. When you mention other QB's like Aaron Rodgers and the success he has with the packers, understand its because he is playing in a modern version of the WCO scheme under the direction of HC Mike McCarthy. He has a fleet of top WR's and a great TE in Finley. He has a much better O line, and Rodgers, like Big Ben, can float around in the pocket waiting for the receiver to break open before he throws. But yea, When Rodgers is hot he has uncanny accuracy with almost every throw. Its kinda why he has a SB ring. Still, the Packer offensive scheme is better, the QB surrounding cast is better, the HC is better. I still happen to think that the Buffalo Bills supporting cast isn't even close to being good enough to support a rookie QB.

Why were the Bills in no position to do that with 30-50 million? Did every regime need to have a QB fall to them like it does with Buddy Nix? Look at what the Redskins gave up for RG3. The year the Bills moved up to take JP Losman Tom Donahoe had wanted Big Ben but the Steelers drafted him, Jeez, good move for them huh! If Donahoe knew he really wanted Big Ben he should have moved up to get him. Traded with either the Redskins or Browns. That same year Matt Schaub was taken in the 3rd round by the Falcons tho. Yeah, Jay Cutler over Donte Whitner would have been the smart move, but then your talking Dick Jauron

When you draft a QB in rounds 3-7 you have a fan base that always wants to see what the backup can do every time the starter throws an INT or falters at all. Unless of course you have a superstar at QB like Brady, Brees or Manning. It generally takes 3-4 years for a QB to develop properly, and that is time wasted if that "maybe" guy turns out to be a bum. You need to think back to 2010, Chan Gailey thought Trent Edwards could do the job.... The way Nix drafts I'd have to say unless the Bills get that #1 overall pick or a good QB falls to them somehow in the 1st round next year, I don't see the Bills drafting a QB. Kinda really sucks Andrew Luck decided to stay in school, the Bills would have had either Newton or Luck

The Bills problems on offense are serious and deep seated, but they don't start at the QB position! They start with a head coach determined to have QB's molded to fit his style of high powered offensive scheme. Instead of building a scheme most any QB would be compatible in, a dominate run first offense like the one Martyball runs. So far only Fitz with his super gray cells have managed to assimilate Gaileys offense, 1 out of 6 so far. Instead of building an offense that supports and protects the QB, Gailey insists on mostly running a one back spread offense with 4-5 WR sets, with one top 20 WR in Stevie Johnson ranked #19, Donald Jones ranked #61 and the 3rd best WR ranked #167- Naaman Roosevelt #4 ranked 171- Derek Hagan, #5 ranked 177 Brad Smith. Which shows that a lot of those 4-5 WR sets had only one decent WR running routes and catching passes all last year. Shoot, I highly doubt Brady or Brees would have done as well as Fitz has done these last two years, with as little as he has had around him. If Gailey wants to run a high powered offense like the great teams have he needs at least one other top WR. Most of the top teams have 2 or more outstanding WR's. Stating that, the WR position should have been the highest priority in the draft. But Buddy Nix drafts on how the draft falls to him. So the Bills drafted yet another CB. While I agree that Fitz is not an elite QB, what he is tho... is a gunslinger, try and make a play, tough as nails Journeyman QB who can get the job done if he isn't running for his life or getting hit every play. The sad thing is Fitz will get all the blame when this offense fails to win games. I'm sure the offense / QB will put up some good numbers in many losing contests this year, even with a better defense. From what I've seen Chan Gailey knows how to get a QB to light it up. He did it in KC back in 08 with Thigpen running his pistol offense, 14 games, 2600 yards 18 TD's / 12 INT's and they went 2-14. I would hate to think what record the Bills would have had in 2010- 2011 if not for Fitz being able to get the ball out to the open receiver in under 3 seconds. Still awaiting the proverbial baby...to see the light of day. PS. It is rather perplexing as to why the Bills haven't drafted a QB in the first round since Jim Kelly (besides JP) considering they have been drafting one of the first 15 players for the last decade.

I can recall watching the NFL network during the draft. They went to a commercial after the Bills selected TJ Graham because they had no info on the guy. Mike Mayock stated he thought Graham was a 5th thru 7th rounder. Hey, it remains to be seen if TJ can become that deep threat that keeps the defense honest ....or just another scrub in the many scrubs of the current Bills WR corps. If Wilson becomes a top QB this season it certainly will give some fans the ammunition to blast Buddy Nix for another Rob Gronkowski type miss

No offense but who really cares about arm strength or accuracy if the QB holds on to the ball too long and is indecisive. From everything I've read about the guy he can be very inaccurate at times You need to look at why the Seahawks gave up on this experienced NFL QB! Here is the reason that the Seahawks made him expendable..."But he also had no TD passes, six interceptions and nine sacks in the final two minutes of halves, which helped prompt the club’s search that led it to Wilson and Flynn" http://blog.seahawks...off-to-buffalo/ Bottom line is the Bills traded for what looks like a Ryan Fitzpatrick clone...with less gray cells and more arm strength. Both QB's have played on losing teams throughout their careers and both give pause for concern as to if they can win in the playoffs or not! The real questions are, Can TJ pick up Gaileys offense. Can he read the defense and get rid of the ball in under 3 seconds to the open receiver like Fitz can

I know you want to, but you can't compare the team that won the SB to a 6-10 team. Like I pointed out, the Giants have a better receiver corps! They also have a better QB, better O line (with pro bowlers on it) better scheme, better play caller, better HC, better defense, better everything. and clearly scoring doesn't equate to wins does it? For the 2nd half of last season the Bills would get behind in points on the scoreboard as little as 3 points, and then go into an all out catch up passing mode. This would put constant pressure on the QB always facing nickel and dime defensive packages designed to stop the pass. The QB was always under duress from all that passing which led to many interceptions at the end of the year. Gailey was so hell bent on passing the ball that even when the running game was working well he would abandon the run and just keep calling 4-5 WR shotgun passing plays with only one decent WR. That plan of passing attack fooled nobody . The Bills went 2-8 after the week 7 bye. Who cares if Gailey can get a QB to light it up, it doesn't matter if he can't get them to win games.

The Bills create a very difficult problem for opposing defensive coverage schemes with so many talented receivers on the roster....oh wait, I meant the Packers, the Patriots, the Giants, the Saints et al. The Bills pose no real threat in their offensive passing scheme because they only have one top receiver in Stevie Johnson. Chan Gailey thinks he is slick running all those 5 WR sets, and yet he is fooling only himself because defenses know to key on Johnson. To the OP, Lombardi made that same note about the Bills offense early last season. Stating that opposing teams would simply jam the receivers on the line and disrupt the quick timing passes, and that leaves Fitz very vulnerable to the rush Amen to that You would think that Gailey would open his eyes and see the deficiencies in his current WR corps and bring in Plaxico Burris